Dana White saw Ian Garry as too passive; Javier Mendez saw ‘genius’

Javier Mendez, head coach at the American Kickboxing Academy, has pushed back against Dana White's criticism of Ian Garry's performance in the UFC 330 title fight against Islam Makhachev on August 15.

Makhachev retained his welterweight title via unanimous decision, and White subsequently criticized Garry for being too passive and overly respectful—qualities the UFC CEO believed cost the challenger the fight. Mendez, however, sees Garry's approach differently.

"From that perspective, I get where he [Dana White] is coming from, but he doesn't understand the mentality of a fighter and what Ian pulled off," Mendez said, suggesting White lacks insight into the strategic thinking required at the elite level. Mendez acknowledged that the bout itself was lackluster but argued that Garry's defensive counter-striking strategy against a cautious Makhachev demonstrated coaching-level sophistication.

Mendez attributed the lack of action to stylistic factors—Garry's reliance on precise counters paired with Makhachev's own reluctance to overextend—rather than cowardice. "I understand this more than anybody, probably, on the mental side of it and what I saw from Ian was so impressive," Mendez added. "The fight was somewhat lackluster. But from the mentality of a coach... that was genius on Ian's part."

The disagreement underscores a broader tension in MMA between fan and executive expectations for entertaining action and the practical, defensive-minded approaches elite fighters sometimes employ against dominant opponents. While Garry may have lost the belt, Mendez's assessment suggests the strategy itself was sound from a technical standpoint.